#2.1 eats processes?
17 messages in this thread
Hi, gang…
A few days ago (Wednesday, to be exact) I installed the AmigaDos 2.1
upgrade (I had been running 2.04 since last summer sometime). The
install process seemed to go ok, but I'm now noticing that when I start
a shell process, it comes up as process 4. This happens even when I
do nothing else after booting, just wait for Workbench and double-click
on the newshell icon. It alway used to come up as process 1. When I
first noticed this, I did a status display, and it says:
4.ROOT:>status
Process 2: Loaded as command: ConClip
Process 3: Loaded as command: Workbench
Process 4: Loaded as command: status
Do I maybe have some leftover 2.04 stuff causing problems? Is this
a normal new "feature", the documentation of which somehow escaped my
perusal? Thanks in advance for any & all comments….
P.S.: I just noticed a minute or two ago, that when I booted the machine
tonight, the date was Wednesday 3/17 (time was correct, however)… could
that be connected? (or am i hallucinating….)
(auto-piloted from)
JcP
Jeff,
I don't know why your STATUS doesn't show a Process 1. I also migrated
to 2.1 recently, but didn't pay any attention to what my first shell
(process#) prompt was under 2.04, but it may have been less than the #5
that it is now (I run several shells and launch several programs from
within my startup scripts).
I have had more of an apparent keyboard mapping problem under 2.1 versus
2.04 – my Exchange hot-key sequence doesn't work, and when I run the
KeyMap program which selects USA2, my keyboard 'shortcuts' for Icon
Information (and other functions) no longer work (eg; RightAmiga-I then
performs an Icon Copy function)??
I wouldn't be too worried about what your shell task number is, unless
you are keying off of that number in some programs, some how.
Real World:southern Illinois,USA Internet:ca0008 at siucvmb.siu.edu
This same thing had puzzled me for the longest time, but I eventually
found the answer. When your startup script is launching processes willy
nilly, a table of sorts is created which delineates what process loaded in
what order. So if 4 processes are launched consecutively, they are proc.
1, 2, 3, and 4 of course. But, when process 2 ends, the numbers don't
shift over, they simply stay as 1, 3, and 4. If you were to execute
something at this point, it would fill in the space left by the last
process and be called process 2.
For instance, right now my shell has a 5> in it's prompt. When I do a
NewShell, the new shell has a 2>.
Easy, eh?
Miguel ——– AP, AP, and away!
Oh no, another of life's great mystery's blown away by reality. <g>
Thanks.
Miguel,
Right – the processes are initiated sequentially, reallocating
sequentially, previously released process numbers. The begining of this
thread seemed to imply that there was a "missing process" somewhere, as
well as a seeming "reordering" of the initiated process numbers, which I
don't believe is truly the case. Oh well?
Real World:southern Illinois,USA Internet:ca0008 at siucvmb.siu.edu
Hello Jeff,
This is correct. There is one task sitting without any name.
I dont know why. Might be someone else (programmers where are you)
can explain this.
Regards
Herbert
Herbert,
Thanks for the confirmation. Actually I'm just as puzzled by process
numbers 2 & 3 — status shows what they're doing, but since I didn't
change any of my user-startup stuff (actually, I did — took a couple of
things out ) … so what's the deal ? I think Commodore should have at
least mentioned that this would happen, even though it doesn't seem to
be causing any problems. As you said, maybe someone will see this thread
who knows the answer….
(auto-piloted from)
JcP
Jeff,
I'm using 2.04, and I too don't seem to have a process 1:
Process 2: Loaded as command: conclip Process 3: Loaded as command:
Workbench Process 4: Loaded as command: AutoCLI Process 5: Loaded as command:
status
Regards,
Shraddhan – via Whap! from Hertfordshire in the UK
I have AutoCLI in my startup and when I invoke it, the shell comes up as
Process 11!
Shraddhan,
OK you're the third person other than me who has seen this…. so
I guess it must be real. 🙂
Now I wonder why Commodore didn't mention that there was some sort of
change…. curious.
(auto-piloted from)
JcP
The process numbers are assigned dynamically; always have been. It's quite
possible that there >was< a process 1, and Ami just has n't gotten around to
reusing the number.
On the other hand, what are you worrying about? I've seen this behaviour since
1.2.
michael,
I'm not worried, just curious and/or mystified. I made no change, at
first, in any of my user-startup stuff, and suddenly found my cli coming
up as #4 instead of #1. After noticing that, I went hunting for stuff to
kill in my user-startup, figuring that maybe there was something in there
superfluous — which there was, & I killed it. Still cli is #4. Seems
like there ought to be some sort of rational explanation.
(auto-piloted from)
JcP
Jeff;
I suspect that the reason that C= did not mention the change is that there
is almost no way for them to know exactly how various machines will behave
in that regard. The Ami multitasks during bootup as well as during
operation. Many of the low level routines have had improvements in their
speed. Some tasks as synchronized and some are not. Various choices that
you make concerning number of screen colors, screen and window sizes,
screen position, what is in your WorkBench Startup Drawer and your User
Startup-Sequence all affect how long various processes take to run. Also,
the speed, size, percent full, number and fragmentation of your hard
drive(s) has an effect.
For example, yours is 4 but mine is 2 and I suspect that the reason for
the difference is that mine does more on startup than does yours before
the shell is opened so that there is a "free slot" at 2 when the shell is
opened.
-bill
Bill,
Sounds reasonable, but I still wonder… Following some of the other
comments that have been made here, I experimented yesterday, and found
that when I start a new shell by clicking on the Workbench Icon, the
first one is #4, then 5, 6, 7, 8, etc…. but if I start one by typing
newshell FROM any of the cli's, THAT one ends up as # 1 ….. Timing does
not seem to have an effect (at least that far after bootup)…
At least it's refreshing to be puzzled about something that is not
causing problems — oops I mean opportunities :)….
(auto-piloted from)
JcP
Interesting. I've never heard what AmigaDOS's algorhythm was for assigninh
process numbers – since I'm a UNIX geek, I'm used to 4 digit numbers that never
get re-used.
why don't you do what I did? I changed my shell-startup so that my prompt
shows the directory name in reverse video. (The current directory, that is…)
I never look at the process #'s unless I'm trying to kill something.
michael,
Actually, I don't really give a flying (*) about process numbers,
either — just got curious when I noticed a change, and it made me worry
that perhaps something in my startup-sequence was not freeing up it's
process ( ie, maybe I was missing a >NULL or something…) but apparently
not.
The prompt idea makes sense — that's the way the UNIX machines I
use at work are set up — I don't actually use the cli all that much at
home so never got around to it.
(auto-piloted from)
JcP
It's easier to do on the Amiga than on UNIX machines – on those you have to
re-write "cd" so that it changes your prompt when you change your directory.
The Amiga has a special escape code that is always set to the current
directory.
(Can't remember what it is right now, I'm at work.)